Previous by Date:Subject: [DCHAS-L] New Truths That Only One Can SeeDate: Thursday, January 23, 2014 6:36:20 PMAuthor: "Secretary, ACS Division of Chemical Health and Safety" <secretary**At_Symbol_Here**DCHAS.ORG>

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Two people died in an explosion Thursday at a factory belonging to Belgian metal manufacturer Umicore, the company confirmed. The accident occurred at Umicore's site in Olen, 50 kilometres northeast of Brussels.

The two people were working in a silo in which acid fluids were stored, a spokesman said, adding: "For unknown reasons, there was an explosion and the silo collapsed."

chemical spill at an Auburn University lab sent one woman to a hospital just before 5 p.m. Thursday. But according to university officials, she did not suffer any injuries.The woman, a graduate assistant, was taken to East Alabama Medical Center as a precaution after containers of chemicals fell from a storage cabinet onto the floor in a lab at Funchess Hall. The building is on South College Street, across from CVS. The graduate assistant, who was not identified, was released later that evening, according to university spokesman Mike Clardy.Clardy said he did not know what chemicals were involved.

A box of chemical waste caught fire at the Bulk Chemical Warehouse Friday at about noon. The small fire started when movers were disposing of waste from the building, located at 2600 Kenny Road.

A box, brought up from the basement of Dreese Laboratory two days prior to the incident, began smoking while it was being moved and then caught fire. A staff member was able to extinguish the fire and no one was injured. The box was filled with multiple black garbage bags containing chemical waste, according to a University Police report.

COLUMBUS ? Columbus Fire Department?s hazardous materials team responded to a chemical spill Monday afternoon at a local manufacturing plant.

According to Fire Chief Dean Hefti, the hazmat team was activated around 4:30 p.m. Monday after a chemical spill was reported at FLEXcon, 2021 E. 23rd St.

Hefti said organic hydrogen peroxide was leaking from a semitrailer parked at the plant.

The hazmat team took measures to prevent the chemical from flowing into the stormwater system and contain the fumes, according to Hefti, who estimates about 140 gallons spilled from a container that was being delivered to a different company.

The spill did not cause any health problems for FLEXcon employees or hazmat team members, he said.

According to Washoe County Sheriff's Deputies, crews were called to the 5100 block of Carol Dr. in Sun Valley at around 7 Wednesday night and parts of the street had to be shut down. Sheriff's Deputies say an individual was cleaning a cage and was overwhelmed with bleach and ammonia. Sparks Police called the hazmat crew to do a sweep of the neighborhood to make sure there was no threat.

Two young girls died on Wednesday after their family?s Jerusalem apartment was sprayed for pest control. Their two older brothers were hospitalized in very serious condition and their parents were in good condition.

The entire building was evacuated, and will remain empty for at least another day. Police detained the exterminator for questioning.

At 11 A.M. Wednesday a Magen David Adom ambulance was dispatched to an apartment on Hashahal Street in the capital. The responders found the six members of the Gross family in states ranging from woozy to unconscious: the parents, both in their thirties; the two boys, aged 5 and 7; and two girls, one, Abigail, aged 4 years, the other, Yael, 18 months. After determining that the family appeared to have been poisoned by pesticides that were sprayed in the home on Monday, Magen David Adom officials contacted police and the Environmental Protection Ministry?s hazardous materials unit.

BELPRE - A process solvent Sunday night leaked and was contained at Kraton where officials sounded the alert system, a Kraton spokesman said.

The incident occurred around 11:30 p.m. when an employee tightening a gauge on a pump broke part of the pipe where the gauge went into, plant spokesman Mike White said. White called the release minor.

About 20 gallons of the solvent, cyclohexane, leaked from the pipe, but went into the in-plant water treatment center, White said. Nothing leaked off-plant as all 20 gallons were contained on site, he said.

The in-plant treatment system is not part of the retention pond that flows into Davis Creek or the Ohio River and there was no impact to the community or fish, White said.

For the second time in two months, a short section of above-ground pipe burst at a biodigester near Waunakee, discharging thousands of gallons of animal waste.Meanwhile, the biodigester operators said Wednesday they were told by a consultant last week of a fix that probably would have prevented both releases.

?We were evaluating the engineering proposal and preparing a recommendation to present to the DNR and Dane County,? said Jim Ditter, CEO of PPC Partners, which owns the Clear Horizons biodigester.

About 20,000 gallons spilled onto the ground at about 4 p.m. Monday, said county lakes and watersheds director Kevin Connors, who visited the site Tuesday. Workers stopped the breach within 15 minutes, and the manure flowed into a retention basin without reaching waterways outside of the biodigester property on Cuba Valley Road, Connors said.

?Fortunately they had people on the site this time and we didn?t have as big a mess as we did last time,? said Josh Wescott, chief of staff to Dane County Executive Joe Parisi.

The Clear Horizons facility has been scrutinized since Nov. 24 when 300,000 gallons spilled and at least some flowed a mile away to reach Six Mile Creek, which leads to Lake Mendota.

A second inspection of the science building at San Francisco State University has revealed a level of contamination worse than suspected, so the building that typically houses more than 2,500 students, faculty and staff will remain closed for the entire spring semester, the campus president said in a letter to employees.

The inspection found uncontained mercury, lead paint and asbestos dust throughout the building just days before the new semester is to start Monday.

As students return to class, campus officials are scrambling to figure out where to put the thousands taking classes in the business, liberal and creative arts, science and engineering, and health and human services departments that are housed in the science building.

"Contingency teams are attempting to relocate classes, offices and laboratories assigned to the building," President Les Wong wrote to faculty and staff, noting that employees can find updates on the class schedule online.

The blast at Williams' Geismar ethylene and propylene facility killed two and injured 114 after a flammable vapor cloud ignited from ruptured equipment in the company's propylene fractionation unit, causing a massive fireball.

The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited the company for six process safety management standard violations, including one willful.

NEW YORK (Reuters) - A fire raged at a biodiesel complex after an explosion that was felt miles away in northern Mississippi on Wednesday, a county sheriff dispatcher said, and while there were no reports of injuries, it was unclear whether all workers were accounted for.

The dispatcher for the Sheriff of Union County, who declined to be named, said the fire began at about 5:30 a.m. CST (1130 GMT) after an explosion that she herself felt.

Earlier, the Mississippi Highway Patrol said the blaze was so hot, firefighters could not get close enough to fight it. The dispatcher said the fire was still burning at 9:30 a.m. CST.

The complex lies by the Mississippi Highway 15 about 4 miles north of New Albany, a town of about 8,500 residents.

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